Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Lindsay Buroker is an author who writes across many genres. Her books definitely have elements of fantasy in them, for example, but this is also enmeshed with an interest in the world of steam punk. In addition, there is a substantial admixture of sci fi elements in many of Buroker’s works. This eclecticism reflects the interesting life of the author. Before she became established as a novelist, Buroker had many jobs, including working in fast food restaurants, being a lifeguard, and working as a marketer and blogger. In addition, Buroker was once upon a time a US army soldier.

Throughout her varied and exciting life, Buroker had almost always written down little stories. In fact, she states that one of the reasons why she found marketing an appealing career at first is because she thought that it would consist in telling people stories about different products and how they would improve their lives. However, Buroker soon realized that this was unsatisfying for her: her imagination had a much wider scope, and she wanted to be able to tell her own complex and engaging stories in print.

So, in around 2009, she decided to finish up some novels that she had been tinkering with. She started with a couple of books in the series known as ‘The Emperor’s Edge’ and then she wrote a book called ‘Encrypted’. However, feeling that her eclectic mix of steampunk, sci fi and fantasy might not meet the needs of some more traditional agents and publishers, she felt wary about approaching them with her finished manuscripts.

Things all changed in 2010, when Buroker discovered a book on self publishing. This gave her the inspiration and motivation that she needed in order to self publish her novels – and then carry on self publishing them. Supported by her loyal fans and readers, after a few years Buroker was able to make a living exclusively as a self published novelist. She is a prime example of how in the twenty first century more and more authors turned to self publishing as a way of getting their names known and releasing themselves from what they see as the trammels of traditional publishing.

Books by Lindsay Buroker.

As mentioned above, the first series of books by Lindsay Buroker was the Emperor’s Edge series. This is the series that really made her name and started to establish her writing career, and so we will look at a couple of early books from that series more closely below. However, it is worth noting that Buroker has also published several other novels, including in 2016 ‘Claimed’ which is part of a series following the fortunes of a tinkerer – a beautiful young woman working with metal in an industrial steampunk world. Machinery, magic and romance are key themes in all of Buroker’s works and though she has written several different series of books, these themes can be said to unify them all. In order to give a flavor of her work, let us look at the first two books in her first series, ‘The Emperor’s Edge’.

The Emperor’s Edge 1: ‘The Emperor’s Edge’.

In this novel, readers are introduced to the character of Amaranth Lokdon. Lokdon is a law enforcer and she is a fearsome adversary to all of the lawbreakers in her vicinity. However, soon a series of crimes start to occur that threaten to challenge her abilities as a lawmaker. Dead bodies begin to wash up on the shores of the nearby river and it falls to Lokdon to solve the mystery before more killings happen.

In addition, Lokdon finds out that the most infamous assassin the realm is in town. His name is Sicarius. Lokdon knows that Sicarius must be somehow involved in the killings, arson attacks and other crimes that are occurring in the empire. However, she knows that facing up to this assassin is very dangerous.

In ‘The Emperor’s Edge’, we see Lokdon and Sicarius circling each other. Who will make the first move? Lokdon is very handy with a blade, but this is a terrifying adversary. Readers will be gripped as Lokdon has to solve the mysteries and end the chaos that threatens to engulf her city. What happens next is very unexpected: the pair form an unlikely alliance in order to thwart the criminals and – ultimately – to save the life of the Emperor himself. And, by the end of the novel, readers will be hungry for the next novel in the series. Luckily, as mentioned above, Buroker wrote had already written the second novel in the series by the time that she published the first one. And so, they did not need to wait at all to find out what happened next. Thus, let us turn now to the second novel in the series known as ‘The Emperor’s Edge’.

The Emperor’s Edge 2: ‘Dark Currents’.

In this novel, we once again follow the fortunes of the powerful and clever heroine Lokdon. When this novel opens, Lokdon and Sicarius are established as a team, ready to solve more crimes. However, far from being recognized as heroes thanks to their bold actions as depicted in the first novel in the series, Lokdon and Sicarius are in fact on the run. This is because they have been blamed for the actions of the kidnappers and criminals. So, Lokdon and Sicarius need to clear their name as urgently as possible.

However, their opportunity to prove what loyal citizens they are arrives. Corpses begin appearing in the aqueducts of the city and Lokdon and Sicarius begin to get to work solving the mystery. However, they have several foes to face down before they can clear their names. The emperor’s soldiers are out to kill them and a whole host of magical and uncanny enemies arise including shamans and robotic mechanisms that seem to have a life of their own. These mechanisms are just one example of the steampunk feel of the novel. As with most of Buroker’s works, this is a novel that blends magic, fantasy, steampunk and classic science fiction to create a compelling world in which readers can lose themselves.

With the latest book in the Gray Man series by Mark Greaney coming out soon, we wanted to make the very first book in the series our book of the month.

Greaney is an incredible author and if you love the "lone badass" type of books then you will LOVE the Court "Gray Man" Gentry series. Read more about it.

Featured Series

It might seem like overkill, but we're giving The Gray Man series our featured series of the month.

Honestly this is such a great series and we feel not enough people read it so we want to push it. Read more about The Gray Man series and seriously if you haven't read it - start! Amazing thrillers.

Featured Author

Mark Greaney is an incredibly talented author. Not only does he write the Gray Man series however he also writes various Jack Ryan novels. Many feel he is the best writer of them and he truly is a great author. We're happy to award our author of the month to Mark Greaney.

Did You Know…

There was a strong possibility that we would never have got a classic book such as The Da Vinci Code. Author Dan Brown was a pop musician initially, and even relocated to Hollywood in an attempt to continue that career. However his kids version of electronic music never caught on, and he ended up becoming an author.